University of Richmond Law Review Volume 29 | Issue 5 Article 8 1995 Form v. Substance: The uprS eme Court Retreats Into Its Formalistic Shell in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines Jason P. Livingston University of Richmond Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview Part of the Supreme Court of the United States Commons Recommended Citation Jason P. Livingston, Form v. Substance: The Supreme Court Retreats Into Its Formalistic Shell in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, 29 U. Rich. L. Rev. 1591 (1995). Available at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol29/iss5/8 This Casenote is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Richmond Law Review by an authorized editor of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. FORM V. SUBSTANCE: THE SUPREME COURT RETREATS INTO ITS FORMALISTIC SHELL IN OKLAHOMA TAX COMMISSION V. JEFFERSONLINES I. INTRODUCTION The Constitution expressly authorizes Congress to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States."1 However, it says nothing about the protection of inter- state commerce absent any affirmative action by Congress. The Supreme Court has consistently recognized implicit in the lan- guage of the Commerce Clause "a further, negative command, known as the dormant Commerce Clause, prohibiting certain state taxation even when Congress has failed to legislate on the subject."2 In finding that states may constitutionally tax the local portion of interstate business transactions, the Court has held that "[it was not the purpose of the Commerce Clause to relieve those engaged in interstate commerce from their just share of state tax burden even though it increases the cost of doing business."' This concept is known as apportionment.